


The Casebook of Dorian Pavus

by TrickstersHeir



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crack Treated Seriously, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Snipers, with appearances from Iron Bull & Aurora Atmora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-25
Updated: 2017-02-25
Packaged: 2018-09-26 22:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9924263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickstersHeir/pseuds/TrickstersHeir
Summary: When Étienne Faulkes is discharged from the military following a shoulder injury, he’s got nowhere to go and no family to speak of. Desperate for a place to stay until he can get back on his feet, Étienne finds himself at the door of a man seeking a roommate; the enigmatic Dorian Pavus, consulting detective.Étienne just wanted to settle down, but can the ex-sniper resist the thrill of the hunt when hauled into Dorian’s newest case? And then the next? And the next?(pavelyan / dorienne Sherlock Holmes AU, set in modern times, & written for latefortevinter's dorianmancer week. Mostly going to be drabbles. Possibly connected, possibly not.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to melissaknowsthings for beta reading, latefortevinter for holding the romance week, and my cat for being a distractingly cuddly asshole.
> 
> you can find the edit i made for this at the start of the week [here.](http://iseektheholygrail.tumblr.com/post/157460527853)
> 
> Follow me on tumblr if you like lol. And I'll be honest here lads, I've got no idea what I'm doing.
> 
> In any case, have fun.

 

**Part 1: The Cyanide Closing**

**2:45 AM, Monday**

This wasn't the first time he'd woken up screaming. Far from it, in fact. In the early hours of the morning, Étienne’s heavy breathing and desperate gasping for air filled the ramshackle apartment like a melody from a badly battered bagpipe. He jerked wildly in his bed, legs entangled in the thin blanket that had been half-flung off.

_breatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheoutbreatheinbreatheoutbreath- in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out._

Breathe.

On shaky legs, Étienne stumbled from his bed and dressed himself. His twitching had finally calmed by the time he pushed open his window. He gave one glance to his sniper rifle’s case before taking the colt beside it instead and tucking it in his belt. With a few strides, Étienne climbed out of the window, onto the fire escape, and descended into Ostwick’s foggy night.

\---

Dorian Pavus was not an idiot. He knew when he was being led on. The trail he chased rose and fell in a wild staccato, gone cold one moment and shoved in his face the next. There was no doubt in his mind that his target was doing this deliberately. He wouldn't expect any less from the murderer he chased.

The trail picked up once more on the steps of Ostwick’s grand library. There Dorian found himself face to face with the man he'd spent countless hours chasing after. It was hardly a surprise when the man pulled a gun on him, Dorian had been more or less expecting that.

Guns weren't this killer’s weapon of choice. It was painfully obvious from the way his hands shook as he hissed at Dorian. His feeble attempt at taking a shot missed wildly, firing off into the empty street and completely missing Dorian. Again, not a surprise, though Dorian’s heart pounded a little faster at the sound.

What was a surprise was the sound of a second shot, one that erupted from the killer’s head and knocked him to the ground, dead before his head hit the pavement. Dorian stumbled backwards in shock and desperately looked towards where the bullet had been fired from.

A man, crouching at the edge of the adjacent building, tucking something in behind him. In the dim light he was hard to make out. The man however seemed to be able to see Dorian more clearly, as he gave a nod and a whistle before dipping back into the shadows.

Wasting no more time, Dorian called for back up.

\---

**9:00 AM, Saturday**

Étienne watched the news. He kept it on in the background while he was tuning his guitar, or writing his shopping list, or lazing around on his laptop. Usually he used it as white noise. Sometimes a story would rust through that to catch his attention.

The case of the Court Cyanide Killer was one of them. A murderer using poison to kill victims set to take the stand in some trial or other, Étienne really didn't care. What caught his attention was something else, something much more subtle.

A mustachioed face in behind the Captain in the press release. A face vaguely familiar, only connected when he checked up on the forensics blog he'd been following for a few weeks.

_Hello, I'm Dorian, your friendly neighbourhood consulting detective. Here you can learn all about the fascinating science of Forensics. My personal blog can be found here. _

Sure enough, the selfie tag on the personal blog showed the same man from the press release. Étienne filed that away in the back of his mind before closing his laptop and drifting off to the kitchen to make coffee.

The note in his mind flew to the front when he was perched on a rooftop, watching the confrontation between to men in the street. Étienne was angled just so that he could clearly see the second man’s face under the streetlight. _Dorian._

He didn’t look happy. He looked… worried? Dorian probably wasn’t aware of what his face was doing, but the tight way he help his lips and the tension in his form had Étienne going into high alert. The moment the other man pulled his gun, Étienne’s hands found his colt. Étienne wasn’t aware of what possessed him to take the shot. The other man had fired once, and some primal instinct snapped in Étienne. True to his form, the sniper hit him dead on.

Dorian looked to him in surprise. Only then did Étienne come to his senses. He gave a quick nod before backing away, heart pounding in his chest. This time, it wasn’t from night terrors. It was like… like being in battle again.

Étienne ran back to his apartment over rooftops and fences. For the first time in six months, he felt a certain sense of security return to him.

\---

**3:50 AM, Monday**

Dorian sat in the back of the ambulance, a shock blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Though he hardly needed it, it was a nice shield against the cold. As he waited he kept flashing back to the man on the roof. Everything about his presence threw Dorian off. In his pocket sat the bullet the man had fired. Dorian had no clue why he’d been possessed to take it, but here it was.

With the body carted off to the morgue and Dorian given a ride home by Detective Atmora, he could take a moment to examine it again. Most likely a .45. Why would the man be carrying a gun with him? Why was he on the roof? What had driven him to save Dorian like that?

His mind flooded with many questions and few answers.

\---

**9:00 AM, Monday**

The morning news once again broke through its place in the background as it described the previous night’s events. Étienne watched it over his morning coffee. His instincts had been right, though the killer was hardly the part he paid attention to.

_“Consulting Detective Dorian Pavus worked with the Ostwick Police to catch the culprit, though credit for bringing the Cyanide Killer down goes to an unknown shooter, with a bullet that hasn't yet been found. Detective Pavus describes a man crouching on the rooftop, but says he failed to make out any distinct features in the darkness.”_

The newscaster smirked before saying the next line. _“A guardian angel, or another killer for the Consulting Detective to chase? You decide in our online poll at freemarchmorningnews.fm/cyanide-killer-case-poll. Back to you, Jowan.”_

_“Thank you, Lace. In weather today-”_

Étienne shut the TV off. Not that he minded Jowan, but his weather predictions were usually wrong. It wasn't his fault, really. He did try his best! But the universe seemed rather against Jowan in most ways, and messing with his meteorology was only a fraction of its spite. Besides, more pressing matters were at hand.

 

* * *

**Part 2: The Diligent Detectives**

**2:00 PM, Monday**

“This is your bullet.” Aurora said, in a rather accusatory tone.

Étienne winced internally, and tried his best not to let it show on his face. “Why Detective Atmora, where did you ever-”

Aurora narrowed her glare and shoved it in Étienne’s face again. “I pickpocketed it off of Sparkler, but that’s not the point.” She hissed. “You can’t keep doing this! I know it was you on the roof, who else could it be?”

“Hundreds of people like roofs, Aurora.” Étienne replied coolly.

Aurora snorted. “Really. And that’s why we’re up on this roof together, with the hundreds of invisible people around. You specifically like talking together up here just like these hundreds of specters. Oh look, there’s See-through Samuel right over-”

“Okay, okay, it was me.” Étienne admitted. “Fucks sake Aurora, can’t a man climb roofs for some peace and quiet? I didn’t get shot for this!”

“And the Chief and I don’t bust our asses to cover yours for this.” Aurora snapped. “What if Pavus had seen you? You get caught killing someone, Bull and I can’t step in.”

Étienne nodded. “Fair enough. And what if I hadn’t shot? And the guy hit your consultant?”

“... What if you had missed?”

“I never miss. You know that.”

“Yeah. I know that.”

Two old friends sipped their coffee together in awkward silence on a roof. Étienne felt a slight twang of pain in his shoulder as the chill in the air passed through his jacket.

After a moment, Aurora spoke again. “So, your bills still fucking you up?”

“As always. Why?”

“I might’ve found you a roommate.”

\---

**11:00 AM, Monday.**

“Who is he?”

Aurora hadn’t even had the chance to put her purse in her locker before Dorian was on her like an irritated swan pecking at her calves. And she had hoped to avoid the headache.

“Who is who?” Aurora asked flatly.

“Don’t play coy with me Aurora, we both know you can’t fool me.” Dorian snapped, trailing after Aurora.

“Your surprise birthday party tells me otherwi-”

She found herself being glowered at by the world’s sourest peacock. “Stop avoiding the question. Who is he? You wouldn’t have taken the bullet off of me if you didn’t know him, and Bull won’t tell me either. You both know him. You’re both trying to protect him, or else you would’ve sounded genuinely confused!” Dorian rambled off his conclusions.

“He’s no one.”

“No one. A crack shot with a handgun, from that distance, is no one?” Dorian scowled. “He’s an army vet. Discharged. Honorable. Bull’s old squad? You’re all close, the three of you. And he never fired until I was in danger. Strong morals. Quick-thinking. Protective. Who is he?”

Aurora rubbed her temples and sighed, shaking her head fiercely. “He’s my friend, and if you put him in any danger then Maker so help me I will rip your balls into tiny pieces and feed them to you with a spoon!”

Dorian bit his lip. “So not on Bull’s old squad. Yours.”

“My team, for awhile. Then military.” Aurora admitted. “He’s a sniper, the handgun is a sidearm. He just got back from overseas six months ago. Still hasn’t quite adjusted. He wanders when he has night terrors.”

“And for you to know automatically that it was him, he’d have to have done this quite a lot.” Dorian concluded. “He was on your team. He was…”

“You and I both know we don’t need to spell that out, Dr Pavus. He saved your life, let him be.” Snapped Aurora.

“... very close. You’re defensive. If he’s this special, then I want to meet him. He’s bored too.”

“And what, you want to be bored together?” Aurora scoffed.

Dorian flashed her his best puppy eyes, and only got another sigh in response.

“Please, Aurora? I need back up. Do you know how hard it is to find a sniper?” Dorian asked.

“Have you tried Craigslist?” Aurora replied.

“I need a sniper I can trust. One who can act like an assistant. A sidekick! The Bucky to my Cap, the Wilson to my House, the Wats-”

Bull interrupted him with his approach. “The duct tape to your blabbering?” He suggested, tone dripping with sarcasm. “Try Craigslist like Aurora said, and stop harassing my staff.”

Aurora smacked him in the pec. “Don’t be fucking rude, babe. If he’s so determined, then I’ll put in a word.”

The two cops shared a look between them that didn’t translate for Dorian, who grew flushed as he stood there like a petulant puppy. “Can I at least know his name then? In case I do decided to use Craigslist?”

Bull and Aurora shared another glance before relenting.

“Étienne.” Aurora told him.

“Don’t get him into anymore trouble than he gets into already.” Bull warned.

 

* * *

  **Part 3: Wanted: Roommate.**

**1:00 PM, Monday.**

Dorian never expected to have so many emails within the first half-hour minutes of putting up his ad. Granted, none of them were right. Half of them were asking whether or not he was serious. A quarter of them were applicants (none of whom met his standards; seeing as none were named Étienne and none listed ‘night terrors’ as possible issues), and the rest were spam mail offering him viagra.

It would be another two hours before the lucky one knocked on his door.

**3:00 PM, Monday.**

“I’m Andrastian already.” Dorian shouted at the short rapping. “And I don’t like girl scout cookies.”

There was a pause; and then a call of “Bullshit!” that came from the other side of the door.

_Well. That certainly didn’t sound like a girl scout._

Dorian nearly tripped over his own feet as he rushed over, very nearly slamming into the door before bouncing back to open it. “Étienne?”

“Who the fuck doesn’t like girl scout cookies?” Étienne asked incredulously.

“If you move in then you can eat all the ones the landlady keeps buying.” Dorian blurted out.

Étienne blinked. “Nice pitch. It almost makes up for how creepy that Craigslist ad was.”

“You’re Aurora’s friend.” Dorian stated.

“And thank God she told me the advertiser was you, or else I would’ve flagged you as a serial killer and moved on.” Étienne smirked. “You must be Dorian Pavus.”

“You must be the Pot.”

Étienne’s hand subconsciously drifted down to his pocket. “What are you on about? I-”

“I’m the Kettle.” Dorian interrupted. “You were up on the shelf when the timer went off.”

Narrowing his eyes, Étienne let out a little noise of disbelief. “I shot the man who tried to kill you, yes. You’re welcome.”

Dorian cocked his head aside. “If you go out on a nightly wandering, close the window behind you so the flat doesn’t get cold. The landlady regularly cleanses the house with sage, so your ‘smoking habits’ won’t be noticed. I talk to myself when I’m trying to puzzle something out. The bookshelves in the living room are mine. So is the skull; his name’s Yorick and you’ll treat him with respect.”

Étienne snorted. “How’d you know about my ‘smoking’ habits? The hair or the aura?”

“Partially your tensing up when I said ‘pot,’ partially Aurora mentioning it.” Dorian admitted. “I don’t care about it so long as you don’t care about my odd sleeping schedule.”

“Fair.” Étienne agreed. “Fair demands too. I play guitar. A lot. Acoustic, so the neighbors won’t be pissed about it but if you are then I’m out.”

“Oh no, not at all. Music helps me think.” Dorian replied. “And I have earplugs if needs be.”

“I hate spiders, so you’ll have to handle them.”

“Handle the Andrastian Witnesses and the door-to-door salesmen and we’re even on the pest front.”

Étienne couldn’t hold back his laugh at that. “Deal. You good with guns?”

“Obviously, or else I wouldn’t have asked after you.”

“No, I mean can you shoot?”

“...No.” Dorian shook his head, looking a bit chagrined.

“I can teach you, in case you need it. Might help you avoid future problems.” Étienne shrugged. “We can give this a week to try out, but if it doesn’t work we don’t want you getting fucked over, eh?”

“So you’ll stay then?”

“I’ll try it.”

“You were going to anyways.”

Étienne smiled. “To keep you off Aurora’s ass, sure.”

“I wasn’t on her ass, I was simply-”

“Hounding her for answers about the sniping stranger?”

Dorian huffed in a half-assed manner. “You have your life saved by someone tall, dark, and handsome and not be curious.”

Another chuckle escaped Étienne. “I’m flattered, really. And also tired. If it ain’t a bother, could you point me to the second bedroom?”


End file.
